In aircraft with mechanically operated flight control systems, pilot controls are physically interconnected between the pilot station, the co-pilot station, and the auto-flight system. This physical interconnection facilitates flight crew awareness regarding changes and/or manipulations to the flight control system, such as those performed by a pilot or the auto-flight system. This awareness is quite important, because it allows a member of the flight crew when not in command to monitor the behaviors of the system and respond to them when they are not appropriate, in order to avoid and/or prevent system behaviors that might place the crew or the aircraft in danger.
A majority of fly-by-wire flight control systems do not have these physical interconnections and provide this system behavioral awareness solely through the flight crew displays and aircraft response. These fly-by-wire systems use passive pilot flight controls, which incorporate a set stiffness and damping which will not vary based on flight control system manipulation. While some fly-by-wire flight control systems do provide system awareness by varying force and damping in the pilot and co-pilot controls in response to inputs from the flight crew or auto-flight system, such feedback mechanisms may not be sufficient in certain flying conditions and/or environments, such as in cockpits having dim or variable lighting, conditions where the motion of a sidestick controller may not be readily observed, and so on.
Therefore, the need exists for a system that overcomes the above problems, as well as one that provides additional benefits. Overall, the examples herein of some prior or related systems and their associated limitations are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of existing or prior systems will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the following Detailed Description.